mek set to be a-ok as far as state dept. is concerned

True to form, the US government’s hypocrisy and opportunism shines through as the MEK (a.k.a., the Mojahedin-e-Khalq, a militant Iranian opposition organization opposed to the current Islamic government) is set to be removed from the State Department’s list of terrorist groups because of, among other things, an aggressive lobbying campaign by the group and the fact that they oppose, and possibly even attack, our enemies instead of us, at least for the time being. (Remind you of anything? *cough… the Afghan Mujahideen*).

I think this should not only outrage every American in its blatant illustration of our loose and opportunistic use of the ‘terrorist’ label, but the fact that our government apparently hasn’t learned anything from its decades of meddling in Afghanistan and the ease with which our elected representatives can be bought by the highest bidder.

While I don’t really have an issue with militant and revolutionary groups that evolve into political organizations, which I think is a perfectly legitimate transition when the opportunity presents itself (not unlike how American revolutionaries, who were labelled Patriots as a group, were basically militants who became politicians after their victory over Britain), I do have an issue with my government punishing people who ‘materially support terrorist groups’ (e.g., Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.) while essentially allowing members of Congress to do the exact same thing with groups that, at least temporarily, serve ‘our’ interests and provide kickbacks in the form of campaign contributions to Congress members in exchange for their advocacy.

If history is any indication, this kind of inconsistency between our rhetoric and our foreign policy when it comes to our support and/or condemnation of militant groups, as well as our liberal use of the terrorist label itself, will most likely serve to further harm our image and undermine our security abroad rather than strengthen them.